Writing-machine.



PATENTED JAN. 31, 1905.

,: No. 7s1, 441.,;-

' M. MAYER.

WRITING MACHINE. nrmouror ruin n16, 1904.

UNITED STATES,

Patented Januar 31, 1905;

- MAX MAYER, OF MUNICH, GERMANY.

WRITING;-

MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION 'forming part of Letters Patent No. 781,44 Ldated January31,1905,

i Application filed May a, 1904. Serial No. 206,750.

My invention relates to improvements in writing-machines, and has forits object the provision of means whereby equidistant spacing betweenletters of different size may beattained.

An objection common to the ordinary typewriter that notwithstanding the;different letters occupy unequal space upon the paper the spacing of themachine is nevertheless uniform, resulting in gapsbetween the smallercharacters,such as i, l, t, and the punctuation-marks, while the .largercharacters, such as m,'w, and the like, are unduly crowded or thecharacters are themselves deformed, This objectionable feature'rendersthe type-written page less readilylegible, as I the comprehensive glanceof the eye, recognizing the word as a wholev and resulting fromfamiliarity with the appearance of the printed and larger characters.

page of books, newspapers, &c., is disturbed. My improvement, by .whichthis objection is overcome, is based upon the fact that if the face ofthe type-bar be'divided into thirds, each third being considered as aunit, it isfound that the smaller characters i, l, t, &c. ,referred tooccupy but-one-third ofthe surface, or one 1 unit, the largestcharacters -m,'w, &c.,

occupy three units, and the majority of the characters occupy two-thirdsof the space, 'or two units. The rational method of procedure, then, isto adjust the spacing of the carriage to two units to correspond to thespace suited to the characters occupying two-thirds of the type-face andthen by a supplemental shifting move the paper roll or platen'to'theright or left one'unit to compensate forthe modified amount of spacerequired by the smaller the letters and the principle by which aShifting to the right or left will, result in a This diverse size ofword in which the letters are evenly spaced and the means byfwhic'h Iaccomplish this shifting will be rendered clear by an inspection of theaccompanying drawings, in .which- I 1 Figures 1 and 2 are diagramsillustrating, respectively, uneven and even spacing. Fig.

writer carriage as pertains to my improvement; and Fig. 4: is a top,plan, partly in section, ofthe parts shown Fig. 3. Referringto thedrawings more in detail, a. isthe shaft of the-paper roll or platen b,being capable of longitudinal displacement relative thereto and fixedagainst relative rotary movement by means of the slot 0 and pin 6. Itwill thus be seen that the platen Z2 can be given a longitudinalmovement independent of the carriage. To accomplish such movement,Iprovide a screw-spindle c,mount ,ed loosely upon the axle a of theplaten b. This spindle is providedwith helical threads which engage aperipheral groove in a ratchetwheel cl, which is mounted concentricallyof said spindle upon I the carriage. Upon the pivot 6, carried by thecarriage, a lever f is pivotally mounted, one arm being under thein'fluenceof a spring f and the other arm carrying upon a pivot g a pawlit, one end of which is pressed-in contact with the toothed face of theratchet cZby means of the spring 2'. Rotary-movement of the spindle 0under friction of the ratchet (Z is prevented by the pin is, fixed inthe carriage and projecting into a slot Z, which extends longitudinallyof the spindle 0, while thespindle is coupled to the platen b in suchmanner as topermit rotary movement of thelplaten by providing on the endofthe spindle a flange m, adapted to engage a groove n in the platen. Toaccomplish reverse movement of the spindle when necessary, a crank 0 isoperatively connected with atoothed wheel 9, mountedv on the pivot c,which toothed wheel meshes with a second toothed wheel q, carried by theratchet-wheel d, the pawl It being thrown out of engagement 3 is a sideelevation of such portion of a typeduring the reverse movement. Thepressure- 'roll g must of necessity in this type of ma chine move withthe platen, and I therefore arrange a bar 9' upon the carriage-frame andslidably mount thereon a stirrup s, which carries the platen and thepressure-roll.

By an examination of Fig. 2 it will be readily seen that the letter moccupying three units of space and the automatic carriage movementproviding for a shift of two units it becomes necessary to shift thepaper roll or platen one unit to the left in addition, that as theletter 'i occupies but one unit of space it is necessary to shift theplaten one unit in the opposite direction, and that as the letter noccupies two units of space the movement of the carriage correspondstherewith and no supplemental shifting of the platen is necessary. Inthe act of writing, therefore, uniformity of spacing is accomplished inthe manner following: Before striking the letters occupying one unit ofspace the lever f is operated and the ratchet d is moved one tooth, andas a result the spindle c, with the platen 6, travels longitudinally oneunit of space to the right. If, then, a large letter occupying threeunits of space is to be printed, the usual space-bar is depressed,resulting in a movement of the carriage two units to the left, and thelever f is then depressed, moving the platen one unit to the right,when, taking into consideration the automatic forwardmovement of thecarriage two units of space to the left, the net result is a movement ofthe platen three units to the left, corresponding to the space occupiedby the letter. If, however, a character occupying two units of space isprinted, the automatic forward movement of the carriage to the leftcorresponds therewith and no supplementary shifting of the platen isrequired.

Many modifications of constructional details will readily suggestthemselves to the skilled mechanic which come well within the spirit ofmy invention as set out, and I do not, therefore, desire to be limitedto the specific arrangement shown.

Wherefore, having thus fully disclosed my invention and the manner ofits operation, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States, is

1. In a type-writer, the combination with the carriage, of a paper rollor platen longitudinally displaceable thereon, a shift-lever, andmechanism connected therewith for displacing the platen upon thecarriage to a definite extent.

2. In a type-writer, the combination with the carriage, of a paper rollor platen longitudinally displaceable thereon, a shift-lever, andmechanism connected therewith for displacing the platen to a definiteextent in a direction opposed to the movement of the carriage.

3. In a type-writer, the combination with the carriage, of a paper rollor platen longitudinally displaceable thereon, a screw-spindle connectedwith the platen, a ratchet in threaded engagement with the spindle andfixed to the carriage, and means for actuating the ratchet whereby theplaten will be displaced relative to the carriage.

4. In a type-writer, the combination with the carriage, of a paper rollor platen longitudinally displaceable thereon, a screw-spindle, a swivelconnection between the spindle and platen, a ratchet mounted in thecarriage and having threaded engagement with the spindle, and means foractuating the ratchet.

5. In a type-writer, the combination with the carriage of a paper rollor platen longitudinally displaceable thereon, a screw-spimlle, a swivelconnection between the spindle and platen, a feather-and-grooveconnection between the spindle and carriage, a ratchet mounted on thecarriage and having threaded engagement with the spindle, and means foractuating the ratchet.

6. In a type-writer, the combination with the carriage, of a paper rollor platen longitudinally displaceable thereon, a screw-spindle, a swivelconnection between the spindle and platen, a feather-and-grooveconnection between the spindle and carriage, a ratchet mounted on thecarriage and having threaded engagement with the spindle, and means foractuating the ratchet, comprising a lever and a spring-pressed pawl.

7. In a type-writer, the combination with the carriage, of a paper rollor platen longitudinally displaceable thereon, a screw-spindle connectedwith the platen, a ratchet in threaded engagement with the spindle andfixed in the carriage, a lever-and-pawl mechanism for actuating theratchet whereby the platen will be displaced step by step in onedirection relative to the carriage, and a crank mechanism whereby theplaten may be displaced in the opposite direction.

8. In a type-writer, the combination with the carriage, of a paper rollor platen longitudinally displaceable thereon, a swivel connectionbetween the spindle and platen, a featherandgroove connection betweenthe spindle and carriage, a ratchet mounted in the carriage and havingthreaded engagement with the spindle, a lever-and-pawl mechanism foractuating the ratchet step by step in one direction, and a crank andtoothed-wheel mechanism for actuating it in the opposite direction.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

MAX h IAYER.

Vitnesses:

ABRAHAM VSCHLESING an, ULYSSES J. BYWATER.

